Focus on Dividends

  Inflation and Omicron are just short-term noise ahead of a strong recovery; that noise means these bargain stocks are selling at a discount.   It’s been a stellar 2021 for the market. The S&P is up 26% so far with only days left in the year. That’s about triple the historical average annual market return. But the negative short-term news is hurting companies that are otherwise positioned for strong growth, making them bargain stocks for longer-term investors.   The lure of a strong economy with still-low interest rates is overcoming the gathering problems of persistent high inflation, a rapid Fed tightening cycle, and the explosion of Omicron.   But inflation is getting worse and promises to be a big issue in 2022. October inflation was the worst in about forty years. November’s numbers, which were just released, hitting the highest level in nearly four decades and marking the seventh straight month of inflation over 5%.   The persistent inflation has prompted the

  The company's rebounding commercial aviation vertical may be key to driving long-term growth     Summary   The product of a 2020 merger between Raytheon and United Technologies, the combined company is a sprawling aerospace business spanning both defense and commercial segments. While initially panned by many investors, the merger has lately shown signs of paying off. Raytheon's commercial aviation business, inherited from United Technologies, contributed significantly to its earnings beat last quarter. If Raytheon can sustain both its defense and commercial verticals, it could surpass Boeing and Lockheed Martin on a revenue basis.   Raytheon Technologies Corp. (RTX, Financial) has been a mainstay of the aerospace industry for decades, yet it has frequently found itself overshadowed by its larger peers, especially the sprawling Boeing Co. (BA, Financial) and the dynamic Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT, Financial). That may soon change, however, if current trend

  It’s time to go on defense     Naturally, as the major indices absorbed the news regarding the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate hikes for 2022 — and not in a great way — many folks turned to Cathie Wood. A technology investor and the matriarch of Wall Street, Wood commands serious influence. And her words were to not deviate from the course because the truth “will win out.” Still, a slight shift toward boring stocks to buy might help.   According to CNBC, Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKK) lost a fifth of its value on a year-to-date basis since the close of Dec. 17. Under the much often cited narrative of buy low, sell high (or buy the dips in the contemporary parlance) the fallout in tech and other sectors might inspire buying sentiment. While that could be true, it’s also possible more pain is on the way, which bolsters boring stocks to buy.   In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, David Keller, chief market strategist at StockCharts.com, stated that, “Ar

  Upgrades:   Dover (NYSE:DOV) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report released on Monday, The Fly reports. Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Dover from $163.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Dover from $173.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Dover from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Dover from $187.00 to $178.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, Dec

  Resilient real estate stocks are an apt choice amid uncertainty heading into 2022. These are 12 of the best REITs to consider in the new year.     Real estate investment trusts (REITs) should finish 2021 as one of the stock market's top performing sectors, barring a surprise late-year disaster. And investors positioned in the best REITs could be set up for a productive 2022.   The main reason REITs remain so popular with investors year after year is the reliable strength of their dividends. Remember: REITs are required to pay out at least 90% of their taxable profits as dividends (in return for some generous tax breaks). And even after a year of big stock price gains, real estate stocks continue to offer impressive yields. The average yield on REITs is presently 2.9%, or more than twice the 1.3% average yield on the S&P 500. Many of the market's best REITs deliver even more income.   But there are other catalysts pointing specifically to strong REIT performa

  Next year might require a rethink    As any financial advisor will tell you, you should always plan for the future. Typically, slow and steady wins the race over making long-odds wagers. However, the novel coronavirus pandemic certainly threw a monkey wrench into this age-old narrative. In turn, seemingly all equities qualified for the label best retirement stocks.   Since the pandemic began, many people have turned to investing for a variety of reasons, and the popularity caught on quickly. Suddenly, everybody became a day trader — using the Wall Street Journal’s language.   Sure enough, the surge of interest in the investment markets contributed to a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to make up for the lost time. Even companies that appeared destined for the bankruptcy line — I’m not going to name any names — enjoyed unprecedented support. Truly, bad news was good news in the new normal. So it was only natural for many blue chips to become some of the best retirement stoc

  In this article, I will go through the weekly dividend increases and cuts in popular and well-known stocks. (Member of The Dividend Champions or Canadian All-Star list)   Recently, 17 companies announced dividend increases. Note that no dividend cuts or suspensions were announced during this period.   The table below summarises the dividend change announcements.   The table shows the current dividend, the new dividend and the percentage increase (%). Dividends are shown on an annual basis and in US dollars unless otherwise stated. Yield is the new dividend yield of the most recent price, and Years is the years of consecutive dividend increases.    

  Upgrades:   Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, The Fly reports. The firm currently has a $107.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior target price of $100.00. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.15% from the stock's previous close. Several other research firms also recently commented on ATO. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, September 6th. Argus cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report

  Going overweight on low-beta, high-dividend stocks helps make your portfolio defensive    Within equities as an asset class, there can be a broad classification of growth and income investors. Growth investors seek to find opportunities in high growth business ideas. In general, a portfolio of growth stocks would have a high-beta. Further, there are dividend investors who look for stable businesses with robust cash flows. Income investors prefer to hold dividend paying stocks. Typically, a portfolio of dividend paying stocks have a low-beta.   However, the best strategy is to remain diversified. Overexposure to high-beta stocks can negatively impact the portfolio in a sharp downside. Going overweight on low-beta and high-dividend stocks does make the portfolio defensive. However, in times of high inflation, there can be a potential risk of returns that fail to beat inflation.   My focus in this column is on high-quality dividend stocks that investors can buy and hold fore

  The new COVID variant Omicron and the fear of new lockdowns caused the market to drop a little over 4% in a few trading days. This significant drop has also brought down the stock prices of high-quality Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) because of the fear of lockdowns. In 2020, REITs suffered due to local government restrictions and declining rental collections. Today’s article will discuss a REIT that has been downtrading the past two weeks and brought down further because of the Omicron fears. This high-quality REIT is STORE Capital stock.   Overview Of STORE Capital Stock The REIT that we will cover today is STORE Capital Corporation (STOR). STOR is an internally managed net-lease REIT leader in the acquisition, investment, and management of Single Tenant Operational Real Estate, or STORE Properties, its target market and the inspiration for its name. The REIT is one of the largest and fastest-growing net-lease REITs and owns an extensive, well-diversified portfolio that

  In this article, I will go through the weekly dividend increases and cuts in popular and well-known stocks. (Member of The Dividend Champions or Canadian All-Star list)   Recently, 19 companies announced dividend increases. Note that no dividend cuts or suspensions were announced during this period.   The table below summarises the dividend change announcements.   The table shows the current dividend, the new dividend and the percentage increase (%). Dividends are shown on an annual basis and in US dollars unless otherwise stated. Yield is the new dividend yield of the most recent price, and Years is the years of consecutive dividend increases.  

  Upgrades:   Canadian Western Bank (TSE:CWB) was upgraded by Veritas Investment Research from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. CWB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. CIBC boosted their price target on Canadian Western Bank from C$44.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Monday, November 22nd. National Bank Financial boosted their price target on Canadian Western Bank from C$40.00 to C$41.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Canadian Western Bank from C$42.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Canadian Western Bank from a “market perform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a C$41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price